The Shins Have Decided We Can Wait Longer For Their New Disc

Originally scheduled for a summer 2006 release, then pushed back to October, it has now been revealed that the new Shins album won't be ready until next year.

Though the new disc was scheduled to be delivered by April 1 of this year, the group's label, Sub Pop, doesn't seem too upset that the Portland, Oregon-based quartet are taking their time to finish it.

The Phil Ek-produced record is currently in the hands of the band at singer/guitarist James Mercer's home studio. At one time, the disc was tentatively titled Sleeping Lessons, but it's not clear if that title stuck. The Shins' third full-length will have some big shoes to fill, as 2003's Chutes Too Narrow has sold almost 400,000 copies in the U.S.

"We have never been more happy with anything that we've ever recorded before," the band wrote recently on their website. "And we can definitely say that it is due to the fact that we've been given so much time to perfect it. The record is the best we've ever done."

The group have already been road-testing some of their new songs, including "Circus Walk," "Australia," "Phantom," "New Step" and "Won One Too Many Fights." At the end of last year, the group said they were also working on songs titled "A Comet Appears" and "Cave Of The Ice Giants." They've been tight-lipped about which, if any, of these songs will appear on the new disc.

The Shins will take a timeout from recording to play four shows in the U.S. this fall. No Canadian dates have been scheduled.